Report No. 008-12

TO: Chair and Members of the Board of Health
FROM: Graham L. Pollett, MD, FRCPC, Medical Officer of Health
DATE: 2012 January 19

Adventures in Sex City Part 2:
A Collaborative Strategy in Youth Engagement

Recommendation

It is recommended that Report No. 008-12 Adventures in Sex City Part 2: A Collaborative Strategy in Youth Engagement be received for information.

Background

According to the Ontario Student Drug Use and Health Survey (OSDUHS) for 2009, 82% of high school students in the Southwest Local Health Integration Network (LHIN) reported that they used alcohol in the previous year.  This compares to 69% for the province as a whole. The self-reported rate for marijuana use was 39% for the Southwest LHIN compared to 34% for the province.  Based on the same survey, 46% of high school students in the Southwest LHIN reported binge drinking in the past 4 weeks which was higher than the province at 33%.  Binge drinking is defined as consuming five or more drinks on at least one occasion.  These three statistics indicate higher rates of adolescent substance use in the Southwest compared to the provincial rates.

One of the most significant concerns with youth alcohol consumption is the effect that it has on decision making.  The literature has shown that when adolescents consume alcohol they are less likely to use condoms and are also more likely to “do more sexually” than planned.  Teens who binge drink are more than twice as likely to be sexually active than those who do not binge drink.

Another significant concern related to substance use is its impact on consent.  When someone has been drinking or consuming drugs they are not legally able to give consent to sexual activity. As well, alcohol and drugs play a major role in sexual assaults.  The most common rape drug used today is not “Roofies” or “GHB”, it is alcohol.  It is common for someone to encourage a partner to drink a large amount of alcohol and then take advantage of the partner when they are unable to make coherent and informed decisions. 

Based on the literature, the Sexual Health Promotion (SHP) and Healthy Communities & Injury Prevention (HCIP) team collaborated to work on a youth engagement project to educate youth about the risks associated with substance use in a new and engaging way.     

Youth Engagement

Eleven local youth, ages 16-21, were recruited to form a Sexual Health and Substance Misuse Working Group. The youth attended local schools, including university, college and high school. The purpose for this youth working group was to review the existing game and website “Adventures in Sex City” and find a way to incorporate the messages of alcohol and substance misuse into the development of part 2 of the game.  The group met over several weeks and an honorarium was provided for member participation. The SHP and HCIP teams worked together to facilitate these groups.

Existing Website and Game

In February of 2010, the SHP team officially launched the interactive web-based game “Adventures in Sex City”.  The game drew much attention and was featured in many National and International news stories.  The game has been played approximately 375,000 times by people in countries all over the world.  The game can be found either at www.healthunit.com or www.getitonlondon.ca.  Website development was also guided by youth input and has a familiar “comic book” feel to it. In addition to the game, the site includes links to reputable web sites, information specific to The Clinic, educational but entertaining videos containing safer sex messages, links to Health Unit sexual health fact sheets, and both current and past Health Unit sexual health posters available for user download.  Another notable feature is the “behind the scenes” page that illustrates how youth were involved in this project. 

“Adventures in Sex City 2”

With the youth guiding the process, part 2 of “Adventures in Sex City” was developed.  In part 2, the character “Wonder Vag”, has been kidnapped by her evil twin sister and the sex squad must come to the rescue.  Players select a member of the “Sex Squad” to be their alter-ego hero and challenge the villain “Bloody Mary” by answering alcohol or drug and sexual health related questions.  Regardless if the question is answered correctly or incorrectly, players are provided the correct answer and explanation to increase their knowledge about the topic.  The end of the game encourages players to consider their own substance use, and provides direction on where to access further information.  Middlesex-London Health Unit information is listed, in addition to links to health units across Ontario.  The game will also be available in CD format for use as an interactive teaching resource.

Part 2 of this game was shown to a number of different youth groups when it was in draft format.  It has received favourable reviews and the input from these groups was used to help guide the final product.

Posters

In addition to the game and website, two posters are being developed.  The focus of the posters will be alcohol and its affects on decision making and consent.  These posters will be displayed at secondary and post-secondary locations as well as at community locations serving youth.  A plan is also in place for distribution to local bars. 

Conclusion

Engaging youth in the process of resource development led to materials that were innovative, relevant and interesting to the targeted age group.  Knowledge gained through this process will be utilized in future sexual health promotion strategies.  Evaluation of the game, website and posters will be detailed in a future report to the Board of Health.

This report was prepared by Mr. Joshua Poynter, Public Health Nurse, Sexual Health Promotion Team, Ms. Lisa Kelliher, Health Promoter, Sexual Health Promotion Team, Ms. Melissa Rennison, Public Health Nurse, Healthy Communities & Injury Prevention Team, and Ms. Shaya Dhinsa, Manager, Sexual Health.

Graham L. Pollett, MD, FRCPC
Medical Officer of Health

This report addresses the following requirement(s) of the Ontario Public Health Standards: Sexual Health, Sexually Transmitted Infections and Blood Borne Infections (including HIV): Requirement 4b…increase public awareness of the epidemiology associated risk behaviours, risk factors, and risk reduction strategies related to healthy sexually transmitted infections by developing and implementing regional/local communication strategies and Prevention of Injury and Substance Misuse: Requirement 4b Increasing public awareness of the prevention of injury and substance misuse.